There is a growing interest in physical media again, and it is showing up in places like small video shops that still carry VHS tapes and DVDs.
One Brooklyn store has been getting steady attention since opening, with people coming in looking for films they cannot find on streaming services and others just wanting something physical to take home.
Among the mix of movies and collections, skateboarding videos from earlier decades are part of what people are asking about and picking up.
These older skate tapes come from a time when skate videos were mostly shared through VHS and later DVD. You would get a full release from a crew or brand and watch it from start to finish at home, often on repeat.
Back then, skate videos were built around full parts and long form edits. Skaters would film for months or longer before a video came out.
When it finally did, it would circulate through shops, homies, and personal collections. That was how new skaters learned tricks, names, and styles. It was a slower way of seeing skateboarding compared to how clips are watched today.
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There was no streaming library where everything was instantly available.
There was no feed showing short clips every hour. You had to wait for the tape, borrow it, or buy it. That made each release something people actually sat down to watch in full. It shaped how skaters learned and how crews were remembered.
At the same time, skate videos were still tied to brands and companies. Shoe sponsors, board companies, and skate teams funded the filming and releases.
Videos were part of how companies showed their riders and promoted new talent. It was a different structure from today, but it was still connected to business and sponsorships.
What feels different to some people looking back is the pace. The experience of watching a VHS or DVD skate video was more contained.
You were not switching between apps or chasing constant updates. You were just watching a video from beginning to end, usually with friends or alone at home.
Now, interest in those old formats has started to show up again in small ways. Some younger skaters and collectors are picking up VHS and DVD skate videos, either out of curiosity or interest in skate history.
Shops that carry physical media have noticed more people asking for older tapes, including skateboarding releases from earlier eras.
READ MORE: Skate Legend Jeremy Wray Puts His Classic OG Skate Video DVDs Up for Sale
It is not replacing how skate videos are watched today, but it adds another way people connect with skateboarding history.
Modern skating still lives online through clips and edits, but the older tapes remain something people go back to when they want to see how things looked before everything moved to digital platforms.
For all OG skate heads, those videos represent a time when skateboarding was documented in a more contained form. You had a tape, a DVD, and a full video that stayed in circulation through physical copies instead of endless uploads.
That format still holds value for collectors and skaters who want to revisit how earlier generations experienced skateboarding through film.v